Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-02-11
HOW GREAT PEOPLE DINE.


Things Are Fed to stupid Diners.
The strict ceremonial Of the dinners Of
Queen Victoria has not changed since her
assumption of the throne. A quarter Of
an hour before the time fixed for the re-
p~ast-generally 8 o'clock-all the party
invited 10 dine with the queen meet In
the grand salon and form themselves
into a half circle about the door where
she is expected to enter. The queen, on
entering, makes a beautiful courtesy Qor
which she is renowned), then bows to
the gentlemen, and gives her hand TO the
ladies, who courtesy deeply. She then
goes in first to the table, accompanied
generally by one Of her sons. II any im-
perial or royal person Is present, he sits
at her right hand. But even in the case
Of Gen. Grant she placed the Princess
Beatrice between them. The queen never
removes her gloves during dinner, except
at state banquets. This is q singular
piece Of etiquette, and one would think it
would be exactly the reverse. Her gloves
are new, Of white kid embroidered with
black, never worn but once, and become,
after using, the p~erquiSitcs Of the ladies
in waiting. The queen has a small and
beautiful hand.
As soon as she has finished a certain
''plat" every N else stops eating Of it,
as when she finishes her fish every one
else stops eating fish, etc. After she has
spoken to her guests on either side, con-
versation may become general. but in q
a..hxl.,nI iona aluraxo 1nfarrtp1 10 fh..
sovereign. Sir Arthur Helps, who was
her private secretary, used to tell an
amusing anecdote of being snubbed by
her for telling a rather funny story down
the table, among the ladies-in-waiting,
TO relieve the monotony Of a dreary din
ner, when the queen remarked: what
is il? We are not amused" She has,
however, a love of fun, and sometimes
laughs heartily.
The dinners at the Quirinal are far
more simple as to etiquette. The same
Formally is observed in the entrance Of
the king and queen. but the converse
ton is more general, and the queen does
not wear her gloves. She converSes in
English fluently. The king only speaks
Italian and French. so the conversation
is generally in these two languages.
French, Of course, is supposed to lie a
universal language.
The dinners of Germany are not long,
but they are formal and tedious, and the
cooking does not commend itself to all
tastes.
The perfection Of a dinner is found in
London, generally OF the houses Of am
bassalorS. who combine the excellences
Of all nations with the follics of none.
After asking the consent of the ladies
present, the Italian and Turkish embas-
sizes allow the smoking of cigarettes be-
tween the salad and dessert. This FASH
ion prevails in France and Russia, ladies
smoking quite as freely as men. The
dinners OF the car and the richer Rus
sian princes are models of their kind. 1t
was the Russians who invented the idea
of serving all the dishes from the out
side; hence a service a la Russo, which
prevents the table cloth from being
smeared with gravy and other greasy
substances. The choice porcelain and
glass, the gold and silver, beautiful Or
naments-these are the wonder of all
travellers who visit Russia.
America, having begun to import
cooks, nov rivals all countries in the art
Of dinner giving. The fine napery Of
Berlin, the glass of Bohemia, the gold
and silver work of Russia, the choice
dinner services Of England, the delicate
fancies of France as to pretty dishes for
the ices, and the general t~astefulness Of
American women find expression in these
dinners.
The Princess Louise and the Marquis Of
Lorne live at Kensington palace, n Of
the most curious and romantic Of all the
royal palaces. They give beautiful din
ners, and are said 10 have the most
charming table equipments. - arper's
Bazaar.